Pair Of Oils On Wood: The Brazen Serpent The Sacrifice Of Isaac

Pair of oil on wood panel: Moses and the brazen serpent, Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac. These two panels, given their dimensions, were probably part of an altarpiece. Old restorations. Context and iconography: - The Brazen Serpent: The crossing of the desert, with its difficult living conditions, and so many ordeals less and less well accepted by the people, leads them to numerous recriminations. To punish this impatience and strengthen faith, God added a test by sending a rain of burning serpents. The people implored Moses to intercede. The Lord said to Moses, “Make yourself a serpent and place it on the top of a pole; whoever is bitten, let him look at it and he will live!” » Moses made a bronze serpent, fixed it on a pole, and the prophecy came true. (Numbers, 21, 6-9). - Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac: Abraham is tested by God, who first asks him to sacrifice his son Isaac to him on the top of a mountain. Just as he is about to do so, an angel intervenes and asks him to spare the child. Abraham “saw behind him a ram held in a bush by its horns” and “offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son” Genesis 22, 1-14